This invention relates to hotel and motel door guards, and more particularly to a noiseless apparatus best adapted for use with doors of hotels and motels which are concerned with the comfort of their guests. That is, when a door guard is engaged, preventing the door from locking inadvertently, the contact of the door with the door guard creates considerable noise and/or vibrations. In general, this invention may be applied to doors and door guards to reduce noise and/or vibrations when the door inadvertently closes.
There are known and used extensively door closers for commercial doors consisting of a metal rack and pinion, hydraulic fluid, and lubricated latches with various speeds of operation. Hotels and motels typically do not install these types of door closers to guest doors due to the expense and maintenance associated with such door closers. The slamming noise and vibrations caused by the door and door frame interaction corresponding to the mechanics of the door guard apparatus is significantly disturbing to guests, maids, maintenance workers, and other hotel/motel personnel.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,343,818 to Kuramochi discloses a door guard for locking a door in a predetermined half-open position (i.e., one of the positions between fully open and fully closed positions).
U.S. Patent Publication 2002/0024223 to Bolduc et al. discloses a slider for use with a slide lock of the type having a guide support and a latch slideably movable through apertures of the guide support. The slider includes a channel extending inside the main body from a first surface to a second surface thereof, the channel being shaped and sized to allow the latch of the slide lock to freely slide therethrough. The channel is further devised to reduce friction and vibrations of the latch sliding through the channel of the slider.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,906 to Knapp discloses an interlocking door guard that securely covers and is attached to the outside of doors that open inward, which uses a full length pendulum torsion rod assembly on the hinge side of the door as well as guides in connection therewith and matching receptacles in and/or on both vertical casing members to accommodate mating sections of the door guard.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,926 to Cronin discloses a door guard for a swingable door that is mounted in a doorway having a door closer affixed to the doorway that permits the door to open beyond the point which would normally be the widest open position allowed by the door closer and slows the rate of movement of the door so as to prevent damage to the door, door closer, or doorway.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,084 to Catricola discloses a door guard to deter unauthorized entry that includes a pair of complimentary structural members having complimentary cross-sectional configurations to define interlocking portions that will engage to secure the free end of the door to the adjacent door frame. One of the complementary members is secured along the free end of the door and the other member is secured to the adjacent door jamb or frame, where any effort to force the door, as with a prying tool, will cause the interlocking portions to engage and thereby prohibit the door from being force opened.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,802,155 to Kawabata et al. discloses a door opening/closing mechanism fitted on a door that closes and opens an opening formed in the body of an apparatus by being brought into and out of contact with the rim of the opening which has cam mechanisms that permit the door to engage with and disengage from the body of the door.
The related art in general disclose door guards and slide door locks that prevent burglary and forced entry. None of the related art address the problems associated with the slamming noise and vibrations when a door strikes a door guard. Therefore, it would be an advancement in the state of the art to provide an improvement to a door guard for hotel/motel doors which reduces the noise, friction, and vibrations between the hinge, door, and latch member of a door guard system.